


At the Hour When We Are

by EudociaCovert



Series: Death's Other Kingdom [4]
Category: The Hollow (Cartoon)
Genre: Adam's Trying His Best, Bonding, Fluff, Gen, Sudden Onset Angst, Team Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 19:36:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15007886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EudociaCovert/pseuds/EudociaCovert
Summary: Adam sets up a team playdate.





	At the Hour When We Are

The last day of the weekend comes too soon.

A deck of cards. A couple comic books and a jar of peanut butter Adam managed to scour up in the city the day before. A plastic spoon. Clean sheets on the bed, swept floor, a neat stack of scrap paper and a mechanical pencil on the desk.

Ready.

Kai and Mira show up about an hour after the disengage. Mira’s hair is still wet from the shower, and Kai looks like he woke up five minutes ago, still sporting pajamas and a bedhead.

“Oh, no way,” he exclaims, heading straight for the comics. Adam offers Mira the jar of peanut butter and spoon, which she accepts with a crow of delight.

 “Aw yeah, I haven’t seen this series in years! It’s really old school.”

“So, I did good?”

“Hella good.”

Mira takes her shoes off before she crawls onto the bed. Spoon in mouth, she makes grabby hands at Adam until he joins her, crossing his legs to give the other boy room to fall backward onto the mattress, nose already buried in his newest treasure.

Kai gets crinkles between his eyebrows when he reads and kicks his feet when something exciting is happening. Mira’s cheeks puff out like a chipmunk’s and she makes this humming sound she only produces when she’s eating something good. If he stretches out a foot, a hand, he could touch them both.

With a raised eyebrow Mira points past Adam’s shoulder with her spoon. “That one’s new,” she notes.

It’s a sketch of her in profile. Adam couldn’t get the eyes quite right, but he’s resigned to that by now. There’s a good dozen attempted portraits gummed to the walls or stacked under with desk where he’d drawn her hair or hand over her face to avoid having to try to do those eyes justice altogether. 

Kai cranes his neck to see. “Ooh, how many does Mira have now? More than twenty-three? Any new ones of me?”

“It isn’t a competition,” Adam sighs. He’s ignored. Kai abandons the comic to prance around the room, loudly counting.

Adam doesn’t just draw the team of course, there are other things too. Several renderings of old trees, a couple drawings of a single branch, or a leaf, or the texture of the bark. A closeup of a spider web he’s still proud of. Four of a generic bathroom drain from different angles. A cartoonish cactus in a black hood and robe, holding a scythe. A couple signs that caught his eye in the city. One sorry attempt at himself which came out lopsided, with an overly severe frown. It’s only up because Kai and Mira threw a fit when he tried to toss it.

“Ha, twenty-six! I’ve still got more than you!”

“Of course you do, if you didn’t you’d mope. You’re holding his creativity hostage.”

Kai saunters back to the bed, grinning. “Hey, whatever works.”

Adam sticks out a foot, knocking him off balance. Mira takes the opportunity to pounce, trying to wrestle the shrieking boy to the floor, then swiftly changing tactics to tickling him mercilessly. Kai laughs then, not the nervous chuckle or bark of humor he’s prone to when stressed, but real laughter.

Once they’ve tired themselves out Adam picks up the comic and starts reading aloud. Kai scrambles onto the bed and seats himself so that he can see the pictures, while Mira reclaims her peanut butter and an empty spot on the mattress.

“You have to do the voices.”

“I really don’t.”

“Mira does the voices.”

“I only did them once!”

They spend the day like that. They take out the cards eventually, cycle through the four games they know. Mira finishes her jar, and Kai nicks a rubber band from Adam’s desk drawer and her spoon to make a simple windup toy out of it. They spend a while winding it up, and watching it go.

This is what it feels like when all is right with the world.

This is what Adam’s risking everything to keep.

“Thanks,” Kai says when Adam’s seeing them out of the door. There is something softer around his eyes, something surer about his posture. The comics are tucked safely under his arm.

Adam waves him off. “This was good for all of us.”

“Did you find another gamemaster? Are we on for next weekend?”

Adam nudges Kai’s shoulder briefly. “We’ll talk about that tomorrow. Just get some rest.”

“No problem, seriously. Try to take your own advice, alright?”

“See you in the morning, buddy.”

“Yeah.”

Mira sends him a searching look as she slips past. “You know if you need any help you can ask us, right?”

“I know. Sleep tight, Mira.”

“You too, Adam.”

He watches them from the doorway until they’ve turned down their respective halls. There’s a messy pile of cards on the floor, and scrap paper is spilling over on his desk. The sheets are askew. Kai’s wind up toy has rolled itself into a corner. The entire place smells like peanuts. Adam has no idea where his pencil ended up.

When he closes his eyes he can see a computer screen, the e-mail to one of his temporary accounts he read the day before in a rundown internet café, and left unanswered.

 

_I didn’t have anything to do with the glitch, but I think I know who might have.  DON’T PLAY AGAIN until you three meet with me… I’ve got a bad feeling you’re being targeted specifically. In other news, your session’s been fully edited and released, and your team’s making waves online! Congrats, you’re a hit!_

_L.E._

_Affectionately nicknamed “Weirdie” (by you!)_

_PS: TRY NOT TO DIE you little moneymakers!_

 

Kai needed some down time to feel centered and secure that he’s important to them. Mira needed it to lighten her spirits, to give her something outside of classes to focus on. Adam needed it to remind himself what he’s jeopardizing if he makes a wrong move, trusts the wrong person, takes the wrong risk.

Sometimes the right answer is obvious.

Sometimes every option sucks.

As far as Adam’s concerned, his job is to make sure things suck for him more than they ever _ever_ suck for Mira and Kai.

He writes his response in his head:  _I'll meet with you, but only me. Please supply a time and I'll supply a place. Adam._

He’s decent at his job. But he could always be better.


End file.
